08 September 2009

September snippets

As election fever grips Ottawa, Democracy Watch is questioning the validity of last year's vote: Harper's 2008 election call challenged in court. Yet the relevant section of the Canada Elections Act, on which the challenge is based, explicitly states: "Nothing in this section affects the powers of the Governor General, including the power to dissolve Parliament at the Governor General’s discretion." Thus the Federal Court will almost certainly rule against Democracy Watch.

Doing the Truth in Love has caught the attention of Zenit, the semi-official Vatican news agency: 68 Protestant Leaders Applaud Encyclical. Of course, not all evangelicals are enthusiastic about the statement, including some names familiar to readers of this blog. First: Caritas in Flagrande, written by our friend Darryl Hart, who has taken upon himself the hard task of disagreeing with anything produced by neocalvinists. (It's tough work, but someone's got to do it.) Second: How Many Evangelicals Does it Take to Comment on an Encyclical?, penned by the pugnaciously entertaining Caleb Stegall, who continues to work out his salvation in the plains of Kansas. One assumes that at least these two gentlemen will not be signing any time soon. Nevertheless, we'll keep a pen handy in case they change their mind.

All said, Doing the Truth in Love appears to be prompting discussion of Pope Benedict's encyclical, Caritas in Veritate. Which, as I recall, is exactly what it was intended to do.

The President of the United States addressed his nation's school children on what is the first day of school for many of them. Although I have been from the start an Obama sceptic and although I am not a fan of nationwide presidential addresses when and where they are not obviously needed, I cannot help thinking that the hysterical reaction of some to this speech will do a lot to discredit those with legitimate reasons for scepticism. It should be possible to disagree with the current occupant of the presidency while continuing to respect the office. Too many are losing sight of this.